TADESA (Tim and Dave's Excellent Sailing Adventure)

[Tim Gardner]

Well, have (Citroen)Dave and I got a story for Y'all!

As you may remember, this was the weekend of the Smith Mountain Lake 50K race.  Oh, by the way J24's with Mylar racing sails make their own wind.  CP19's  with 31 year old sails - do not.

I'll start with a pic of Dave at the helm of the the mighty S'go:

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More later, but suffice it to say, other than snow, we encountered all the weather conditions on can encounter in one 13hr sailing experience.

TG

[HeaveToo]

I am familiar with experiencing different weather conditions. I have been holed up in Deltaville with high winds and rain. I woke this morning to...you guessed it, more rain. I am not sure what I will do with this wonderful weather! 

Sounds like you had fun. Btw, have you ever seen a crew of a J24 scull it. They rock it back and forth and they can get it up to a couple of knots.

[Citroen/Dave]

The most frustrating thing about this post is the hours I spent trying to get Photobucket to do what I wanted; the last photo should be after the race ended for example, and I could not reliably add text.  I had lots of frustration practice at the actual event waiting for hours with Tim for some wind.  When we actual had some CP19/II type wind, most boats were putting their rails and more under.  These SML butterflies could not handle what the CP19 was built for.  I was amazed at how easy the ComPac took 30mph plus winds. Only once did I put my feet on the opposite bench and even then I did not have to.

One of the reasons I wanted to race with Tim at this event is I have always been a fair weather sailor. I wanted to race with a seasoned sailor. With the weekend forecast continuing to deteriorate, I was looking forward to some hard weather. I got my wish.

If we had not been blinded towards the end of the race by the white out conditions and water on the glasses, in the dark, and had we more dry clothes, I think we would have placed.  The first thunder storm proved our rain gear insufficient in vertical rain.  After changing to dry clothes, the second thunderstorm emphasized the rain gear failure in slanted rain.  The storms were particularly beautiful from the water; clouds, lightening and squall lines were not blocked from view by trees. After changing again, the third storm proved the rain gear insufficient in horizontal rain and hail.  Even though the temperature was moderate, hypothermia was a concern.  Afterwards, many longtime SML captains said this was the worst storm they had ever sailed in.  I got all of my expectations met for this sailing event except for one.  Along with 1/4 of the fleet we did not finish.  And I am proud of that!  This was my first race in 50 years, I think Tim said it was his first in 48.

http://s1175.photobucket.com/user/CitroenDave/library/Smith%20Mountain%20Lake%2050k

One picture is the first thunderstorm approaching.  One is of those SML butterflies that kept flittering around in no wind.  And one is the purpose of the race; Marcia, in the center is the owner of the yacht club who just lost her dad to kidney failure, and Pete who has given a kidney.  They were the forces that put this event together. Susan was the Kidney Foundation representative.